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UFC 175: Vitor Belfort Replacing Wanderlei Silva Versus Chael Sonnen

The long awaited grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva has been postponed once again, as the UFC has announced that the latter will not fight at UFC 175 due to licensing issues.

As a result, the promotion hopes to have Vitor Belfort square off with Sonnen, provided the middleweight can secure a license in Nevada.

On Wednesday, the UFC released the following statement regarding the situation:

Due to issues related to Wanderlei Silva’s licensing in the state of Nevada, the UFC was forced to seek a replacement opponent to face Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 on Saturday, July 5 in Las Vegas. Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort has accepted the fight with Sonnen, subject to Belfort receiving a license to compete from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

No details outlining Silva’s reported issues were provided. Silva coached opposite Sonnen during the third season of TUF Brazil, and injured his back during a brawl with his rival on the show. As a result, their season ending bout was pushed back from May 31st to July 5th. Now it remains to be seen if the two will in fact ever fight.

Not that long ago, Belfort was scheduled to fight middleweight champ Chris Weidman at UFC 173. After the Nevada Commission announced it was banning testosterone-replacement-therapy, however, Belfort was forced to withdraw so that he could adapt to training without TRT.

UFC 175 will be hosted by the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will also feature Weidman taking on Lyoto Machida.